Sydney Muslim Vote backer attends Hamas anniversary rally

A keynote speaker at the launch of The Muslim Vote movement, which aims to unseat western Sydney Labor MPs, attended a rally in Jordan in December celebrating the founding of Hamas, the designated terrorist organisation that conducted the October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel

Assala Sayara – who helped organise the pro-Palestine Opera House protest on October 9 just after the attacks that was marred by some attendees’ antisemitic chants – marched in the streets of Jordan at a rally to mark the 37th anniversary of the group that runs the Gaza Strip.

Assala Sayara at the launch of The Muslim Vote in November.Credit: The Muslim Vote

Videos of the event on social media, and Sayara’s personal Instagram page, show her next to demonstrators holding photographs of assassinated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and its founder Ahmad Yasin. Sayara was not holding such material; she held a Palestinian flag, was chanting with the crowd, and spoke to others alongside her. Clips on her Instagram account appeared to be deleted on Saturday after this masthead asked questions.

The Muslim Vote, in which Sayara does not hold a formal position, was formed in 2024 on the back of anger within the Muslim community about what the movement’s leaders deemed Labor’s lack of criticism of Israel’s bloody military campaign in Gaza. Hamas says Israel has killed more than 60,000, while 1200 died in the October 7 attacks.

At the December 14 rally in Jordan, young boys in the crowd were wearing plastic headbands in Hamas’ green colour with images of the group’s late leaders, and others held up the number 37 to mark Hamas’ founding in 1987. Videos of the event posted by observers note crowds gathered “to show solidarity with Palestinians and mark the 37th anniversary of Hamas”.

Assala Sayara at a rally in Jordan marking the founding of Hamas.Credit: Instagram

Sayara is seen participating in chants at the December rally, weeks after she spoke at the November launch of The Muslim Vote, which is targeting western Sydney Labor MPs including Tony Burke and Jason Clare. Her speech was featured on the movement’s social media page and spruiked in promotions for the launch.

She also spoke at the October 9, 2023 rally at Sydney Town Hall, before attendees departed for the Opera House.

Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said Australians should not attend rallies supporting terrorist groups around the world after it emerged that other Australians had travelled to Lebanon for the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese political and terrorist group Hezbollah, last week.

“Hamas is a listed terrorist organisation, and associating with it is a serious crime,” Paterson said. “Police should investigate whether this conduct meets that threshold. Only serious consequences, including criminal charges, visa cancellations and citizenship cessation, will send the message that this is totally unacceptable.”

Prominent Lebanese Muslim leader Jamal Rifi said in January that fringe actors within Sydney’s Muslim community had “militarised” anger over the war to topple Labor MPs.

Marchers hold up photos of assassinated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the group’s founder Ahmad Yasin at the December rally.Credit: YouTube

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, a convenor of The Muslim Vote, was counselled by the NSW Education Department this month after he claimed that Sydney nurses who talked about killing Jews “never meant to be literal or intended to be a threat”. Another top Muslim Vote leader is radical Islamist Ibrahim Dadoun, whom an investigation by this masthead showed was a regular at events hosted by the Islamic fundamentalist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.

The Muslim Vote organisation was contacted for comment.

There is no suggestion that Sayara supports terrorist violence, only that she attended a rally for an organisation that does. Australia has designated Hamas, which has a political and a military wing, a terrorist outfit since 2022. Hamas was elected to govern Gaza in 2006, defeating the more moderate Fatah grouping, and has governed without elections since.

Sayara, who was contacted for comment, helped organise and defend the Opera House protest on October 9, 2023, which was held before Benjamin Netanyahu’s government began its war in Gaza that has fuelled allegations of genocide. NSW Premier Chris Minns labelled the demonstration, where some attendees chanted “f--- the Jews”, “abhorrent and the opposite of what we want in our multicultural society”.

A leading academic on extremism, Deakin University’s Associate Professor Josh Roose, said there was a growing pattern of younger Australians travelling to events in the Middle East that could be perceived as supporting organisations regarded as terrorists by the Australian government.

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi is a top figure in The Muslim Vote.Credit: SMH

Just like ISIS’ declaration of a caliphate last decade, the war in Gaza had generated radical attitudes on the fringes of the Australian Muslim community, Roose said.

“This is problematic for any number of reasons including that they are demonstrating not only support for these groups but connections with them. These are proscribed terror groups in Australia, and so any such activity could be unlawful,” Roose said.

“Furthermore, it’s demonstrative of a wider potential level of support among some elements of the Muslim community for these groups in what has become an incredibly polarised political climate in the leadup to the election and post October 7.”

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